Copper Valley/The Angelicall Project
The Angelicall Project is a long running project started by Dr Ernst Spalanzani and Sir Juliusz Coppelius in 1881. Originally started with the goal of creating human life in machines, a falling-out between the two men caused the destruction of the original 'Olympia' model, the shut-down of the project and the untimely retirement of Sir Coppelius. However their tiff had unwittingly contributed to a tale, The Tales of Hoffmann, in fact. As consequence the project was restarted in 1908, with full financial backing by the Fairytale Authorities. Despite our automata being created for a story where they shall be destroyed, our main goal has not changed. Rather, we consider this a strength as it prevents an overattachment to the familiar from forming. Our robots may be built to be destroyed but the innovation they bring cannot be disputed! -''Doctor Odessa Lukøje'' Our Team Doctor Odessa Lukøje- Head of Development Doctor Gourdon Spalanzani-Chief Technician Professor Faeobe Grant- Programmer Doctor Urania Blue- Collaborator Designed in collaboration with The Clockwork Nightingale Studio. Eyes provided by the Coppelius Workshop. Current Project-Project NAO Our current project, NAO (Network and Occult) is meant to take advantage of the fact that, as with many previous projects we are creating two identical automata.¹ Fertility witches and many fae have historically displayed the ability to create life through magical means, a feat that has yet to be replicated through technology. We shall be using this ability to fully animate one twin (dubbed Campanella) in order to compare her development with an AI, who is connected to the mirrornet. (Euphonia) The two share a basic series of traits, which are standard requirements for the Olympia role. In addition, they were imbued with a very basic personality so that we are able to track their development. These are: *A beautiful voice *Dancing talent *A sunny disposition *A basic moral code² *A degree of innocence, and an eagerness to learn more about the world. Campanella Campanella was animated with help from Dr Urania Blue, a relative of the famous Blue Fairy. All of Galatea's basic traits were given as 'fairy gifts' by Professor Grant. She is given many physical learning resources such as textbooks and tutors. So far Campanella displays many positive traits, and is very curious about things, particularly the natural world. She has also expressed an interest in attending The Academy of Happily Ever Afters, colloquially known as 'Ever After High.' Euphonia Euphonia was programmed with a complex series of AI and high speed processors, meant to allow her to process and store information at comparable rates to a human brain. She is also connected to the mirrornet at all times, able to access any information almost immediately. Euphonia initially displayed a rapid rate of growth in her capabilities, but this has declined recently. She seems far less engaged than Galatea which is slightly disappointing. However she does seem to be actively using the mirrornet which could account for her lack of behaviour. (Still though you'd think at least something would have worked by now right?? Isn't the mirrornet altered from magic mirrors or something?!?) Outer Appearance The NAO automata are crafted to resemble ball-jointed dolls. They are human in appearance, and loosely based off of Dr Spalanzani's relative in appearance. Many Mazurka dollmakers were consulted in the design process, in order to make them appear as charming as possible, as well as to minimise the uncanny valley effect. For the most part this was successful. They are rather short, standing at 4.9ft tall. They have a rather heavyset build, to accomodate for the complex machinery that allows them to function. Their eyes are their most striking feature, large glass insets designed by Doctor Coppelius himself. Their eyes are deliberately enlarged beyond what is humanly realistic for the purpose of making them more prominent. They really are stunning pieces of artistry. Previous Projects First Generation (1882),(1884) Olympia and Coppelia Although not created at the same time, these two are often categorised together. Olympia is a fully clockwork automaton who attracted the attention of a hapless Hoffmann, and Coppelia is the less technologically impressive but more technically beautiful girl that accidentally became the titular role of the region's signature story. Second Generation- The Bisque Maidens (1908- 1933) This generation was characterised by an influx in the popularity of the story, which meant that several story retellings happened in a short span of time. Bisque dolls based off the automata became extremely popular collectors items, motivating an increased focus on aesthetics over the goal of creating a being who can think. Titania (1909) A rather simple automaton who was heavily based off of Olympia's blueprints. She was quite popular for her deep blue eyes and dark hair. Victoria (1915) Victoria was a direct update to Titania. Titania's mobility was often rather stilted and so for Victoria they aimed to improve her range of motion. She was by far the most popular of this generation's Olympias. Calliope and Thalia (1922) Calliope's most famous function was her singing voice, a dramatic improvement to the previous maidens. She also had the ability to play the piano, and could be programmed to play any tune. People who heard her were frequently astonished at the human like quality of her voice. Thalia, her sister was the alto to Calliope's operatic soprano. Her voice wasn't as polished as Calliope's but her ability to play multiple instruments more than made up for that. Unfortunately the voicebox prototypes for Calliope were stolen in the 40s. Pollichinelle (1933) Perhaps the most infamous maiden. She was designed to dance any dance, with human-like grace. Unfortunately this proved to be overly ambitious. Her joints were too loose to maintain her body weight for long, and her appearance was described as 'garish.' Pollichinelle is what solidified the twin automata tradition due to the fact that she unceremoniously broke halfway through the tale. Third Generation- Pinocchio (1950s-1989) Due to war breaking out and the Communist regime taking over, the project was suspended. It was then restarted in America on a much more modest scale. The project refocused on the goal of creating more humanlike beings, both in behaviour and movement. Volvelle and Victrola (1951) (1965), (1971), (1996) Maria and Madonna Footnotes #Automata are created in pairs in case one should break at a critical point in a story telling. Should the story be completed without incident, the twin is typically stored for the sake of analysis and preservation. However many earlier models were destroyed in the 1930s, leaving many of our records incomplete. #Asimov's Laws of Robotics are applicable here. They are unable to fatally hurt humans and are strongly discouraged away from anti-social actions. However we wanted to implement a more humanlike approach to morality by allowing them a certain degree of freedom to redefine or justify their views. So far, Galatea has been very receptive to discussions on morality. Category:Subpages Category:Hiddenfolk